At
the present time, in various legal relationships there exists the acute problem
of observing a balance of interests concerning the parties involved in these
legal relationships, their legal rights, and their mutual economic needs.
Judicial practice, when considering disputes between these kinds of parties,
takes into consideration not only the formal requirements of legislation, but
also the real economic and legal goals and interests of the participants.

It is well known that before making significant managerial decisions, the general
director must obtain approval from the shareholders or the board of directors.
Apart from that, if a director is personally interested in entering into a
transaction, approval is also required to proceed with the transaction. In the
absence of such an approval, the transaction can be challenged and, in certain
circumstances, invalidated. In order to minimize such risks and to eliminate
legal uncertainty for the parties to the transaction, the rules governing major
transactions and interested transactions must be sufficiently clear.
Previously, however, the application of these rules was associated with a large
number of controversial legal issues, which were finally solved as a result of
the legislative amendments, which will enter into force on January 1, 2017.
According to the new amendments, the distinction between major and non-major
transactions has been delineated more clearly, parties have been allowed more
flexibility in relation to approving transactions, the burdensome obligation to
obtain prior approval of interested transactions has been abrogated, and
finally the procedure for challenging transactions in question has been made
much more complex. Overall, the changes should have a positive influence on
business, as they contribute to the establishment of firm legal certainty in
this area of the law.Â

The rent for leases, especially those in downtown Moscow and other large cities, is often based on the foreign currency exchange rate, which has recently increased almost threefold. Many businesses have been taken aback by this consequence of the economic crisis. Some of them have been put on verge of bankruptcy because of the increased rent and were forced to seek remedies in courts.